Yesterday's television - both cable and network news - carried the news "flash" that Fosamax, a drug used to fight osteoporosis, had studied whining and discovered that Mondays are the "whiniest" of all the days of the week. Really? Someone needed to research this, spending who-knows-how-much money on the study? As if anyone in the workplace, home, or any other space that draws people together knows. It is no wonder that a pharmaceutical company was the deep-pockets that had money with which the study could be funded. I do hope that our tax dollars did not subsidize this trivial study in any way, but my cynicism tells me otherwise.
Admittedly, there are some of us humans who know no day-of-the-week boundaries for whining. If you are a toddler, you are predisposed to whine. If you are a Hollywood star or starlet, it is expected that you will be a whiner of the highest order. Many of us adults are no stranger to whining and, in fact, can whine with the best of them.
Why do we whine? Is there a difference between whining and complaining? Perhaps in tone? I think one of the best "whining" voices I've ever heard is from the actress who played Janice on the "Friends" television show. For those of you familiar with her voice.....is that not the perfect whining voice?
Perhaps we whine because we are unhappy, dissatisfied, despondent, in pain, recovering from being dumped or shafted, or feeling disenfranchised. There are probably as many reasons to whine as there are people who voice their complaints. In a discussion last night, this case study was mentioned and we all chuckled at the idea of not only studying whining but studying which day of the week had the highest degree of whining. As the conversation concluded, we laughed even harder when we realized that we were whining about whining.
I think I will compile a list of things about which I'd like to whine. It never hurts to have some readily available topics upon which to draw.
Ancora imparo
